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How to Plan a Golf Tournament for Your Company or Non-Profit

Today’s post comes from Doug Wilson, golf operations manager at Garden of the Gods Club’s Kissing Camels Golf Course.  During his nearly 25-year tenure at Garden of the Gods Club, Doug has helped hundreds of organizations plan successful golf tournaments.

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You have been asked to organize and run a golf tournament for your company or charitable organization.  NOW WHAT?  Everybody assumes that hosting a golf tournament is easy, and it can be—if you plan ahead and follow a few key steps.  Below I’ve listed my advice for planning a golf tournament, based upon my own experiences working with corporate and non-profit clients.  I hope these tips help reduce stress for you and your committee leading up to tournament day.

1. Define the goal(s) of the tournament clearly.  What exactly are you trying to accomplish?  Consider the effects that date, time of play, and location could have on achieving your goals.
2. Select a date and a golf course where you would like to host the event.  Give yourself six to nine months of lead time to coordinate and market the tournament.  Contact the golf course to confirm that the date you want is available or find alternate dates to consider.  Inquire about any site fees and catering costs that may be involved, as well as any policies (e.g., dress code, parking, etc.) that could affect sponsors, players, and the overall experience.
3. Plan the event budget.  After doing your research on what venue fees, food costs, and other tournament expenses will be, you need to figure out the amount of funds that you will need to collect in order to appropriately cover these costs.  If possible, give yourself a “padding” to account for unforeseen expenses that may arise during the planning process or on tournament day.  If your event will be charitable, keep in mind that the entry fee alone is unlikely to cover expenses. You will need to think about other strategies for raising money, such as selling mulligans, securing tee sponsors, and securing overall tournament sponsors.  Sponsoring holes or golf tournament can be a great way for companies to advertise their brands, develop valuable new relationships, and give back to their communities.
4. Do not be afraid to request help from others in planning the event.  Form a committee to support you for critical tasks.  Important event planning roles that you could delegate include securing event sponsors, planning menus, recruiting players, and recruiting volunteers to help with operations on tournament day.
5. Spread the word about the event to recruit players and sponsors.  Now that you have a budget and basically know your expenses, it is time to attract players and sponsors.  Use whatever means that you have available to get the word out about your tournament.  Try to communicate what makes your event unique and why someone should consider playing in it or sponsoring it.  Include the five Ws and H–who, what, when, where, why, and how.  In addition to leveraging word-of-mouth marketing, you can display posters, send marketing emails, announce details via social media, and even mail save-the-date cards.  This is a time when your volunteers can really shine.  If this is a charitable event, ask the board of directors and other organizational influences for help in getting amateur golfers to play or companies to sponsor.
   

   Ensure that players are having fun!

6. On the day of the event, do everything within your power to make sure that your players have a great time.  You want them to remember you and the event next year.
7. Take notes!  If there is a chance that you may host another event like this in the future, take notes on what worked well as well as any hiccups that you may have experienced.  These pieces of information will be particularly valuable to you a year from now (or later), when your memory may be a bit foggy, and you’re trying to plan another successful event.

If you have any questions about planning a golf event, or if you would like to explore hosting a tournament at Garden of the Gods Club, please contact Doug at 719.636.2520.

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Things to Do in Colorado Springs This Weekend: Jan. 11-13, 2013

Happy Thursday!  What weekend plans are you dreaming up?  If you will be in Colorado Springs this weekend, read on for a few fun ideas for how to spend your time.  If you’re a Member of Garden of the Gods Club, don’t forget to join us for Happy Hour on Friday evening from 4-6:30 pm, Seafood Night on Friday evening from 6-9 pm, or Prime Rib Night on Saturday from 6-9 pm.  Our Saturday Cirque du Soleil dinner/show outing for Members is sold out.  To learn about other events and activities happening in our area this weekend, check out PeakRadar.com or ColoradoSprings.com.

• Cirque du Soleil’s Quidam — Friday & Saturday, 3:30 pm & 7:30 pm, and Sunday, 1 pm & 5 pm, World Arena.  Tickets $30.50 to $98.
• “New Year, New You” Sports Club Open House — Saturday, 8 am to 12 pm, Kissing Camels at Garden of the Gods Club.  Garden of the Gods Club Members are invited to the Sports Club for a complimentary open house featuring light snacks, fitness assessments, sample fitness classes, and more.  Click here for details.
• The Great Fruitcake Toss — Saturday, 9 am to 2 pm, Manitou Springs High School track.  An annual tradition, the quirky “Great Fruitcake Toss” involves launching your holiday fruitcakes high into space using a variety of mechanical and pneumatic devices.  Compete in the Hand Toss, Kids’ Toss, Launch, Pneumatic Gun or Cannon, Team Catch, or Accuracy divisions. The cost of competing is a non-perishable food item, to be donated to the Westside Cares food bank. A limited quantity of fruitcakes will be available to rent,; however, bringing your own fruitcake is encouraged. Snacks and beverages will be provided by the Manitou Springs Kiwanis Club.
• Colorado Springs Philharmonic:  Disney in Concert — Saturday, 8 pm, Pikes Peak Center.  Tickets $19-59.
• Children’s Cooking Class — Sunday, 2-4 pm, Sunrise Room at Garden of the Gods Club. Chef Steve will demonstrate how to cook a delicious and healthy three-course meal including fresh fruit kebabs, homemade spaghetti and meatballs, and cupcakes from scratch.  This is a private, Members-only event priced at $15 per person.  To learn more, call Alan Fox at 719.520.4984 or afox@ggclub.com.

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Things to Do in Colorado Springs This Weekend: Jan. 4-6, 2013

Happy 2013!  We hope that your new year is off to a great start.  After a busy holiday, this weekend in Colorado Springs is looking pretty mellow, but we have listed a few ideas for how to get out and enjoy our community with your loved ones.  Members are encouraged to get your New Year’s resolutions off to a great start with an invigorating workout at our Sports Club or a tennis match in our indoor palladium.  With the weather reportedly warming up to a high of 50 on Sunday, a round of golf or a brisk hike through one of our free local parks, like Garden of the Gods, would also be great options!  For more ideas, check out www.peakradar.com or coloradosprings.com.  Enjoy!

• Winter Break Camp — Friday, 9 am to 3 pm, Cheyenne Mountain Zoo.  Your children will explore the Rocky Mountains and the wildlife that lives there while learning how our actions can make a difference here and everywhere!  Price $45.25 to $50.25 per child.
• Colorado You Got Talent State Finals -- Saturday, 10 am to 12:30 pm (youth) and 1 pm to 3:30 pm (adult).  Colorado You Got Talent is the coolest and largest state competition in Colorado. Come cheer on your favorites and see who is the best of Colorado. Tickets $8 to $22.50.
  
• Sunday Champagne Brunch — Sunday, 11 am to 2 pm, Garden of the Gods Club.  Members are invited to join us for a delicious champagne brunch this Sunday.  Guests staying overnight in our Lodge are also welcome to attend.  For more information, or to make a reservation, please call our dining room at 719.329.6901.
• Harlem Globetrotters — Sunday, 2 pm, World Arena.  From the World Arena’s website:  “Your family’s smiles will begin before you even get to the show as the Harlem Globetrotters 2013 ‘You Write the Rules’ World Tour takes kid participation to a whole new level.   For the first time ever, fans will decide the rules for the game that could affect the final outcome.”  Tickets $19-106.

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Things to Do in Colorado Springs This Weekend: Dec. 21-23, 2012

It’s the most wonderful time of the year!  Below are a few ideas for how to enjoy the wintry holiday season with your family this weekend here in Colorado Springs.  If you’re a Member or a guest staying at our Lodge, don’t forget to join us tonight or tomorrow evening for Happy Hour , where we’ll be serving up fabulous drink specials, complimentary hors d’oeuvres, and one of the most festive atmospheres in the area.

• A Christmas Story — Friday, 7:30 pm, Saturday, 2 pm & 7:30 pm, and Sunday, 2 pm, Colorado Springs Fine Arts Center.  From the FAC website:  “The modern holiday film classic concerning Ralphie Parker’s quest for a Red Ryder B-B gun becomes a live theatrical experience for the whole family. All of the elements from the beloved film are here, including:  the family’s temperamental exploding furnace; Scut Farkas, the school bully; the boys’ experiment with a wet tongue on a cold lamppost; the Little Orphan Annie decoder pin; and more.”  Tickets $15-37.
• Theatreworks’ “You Can’t Take It With You” — Friday, 7:30 pm, Saturday, 2 pm & 7:30 pm, Sunday, 4 pm, Dusty Loo Bon Vivant Theater (UCCS).  From the Theatreworks website:  “Welcome to the home of the Sycamores, a lively family of very free spirits. Enter the daughter’s fiancé and his strait-laced parents, turning up for dinner on the wrong night. Happy mayhem and lots of fireworks in this beloved classic comedy for the holidays.”  Tickets: $35 per adult, $15 per child under 16.
• WYNOT Radio Theatre’s It Came Upon a Midnight Deadly — Friday & Saturday, 7:30 pm, and Sunday, 2 pm, Colorado Springs Fine Arts Center. From the FAC website:  “Following their successful engagement at the FAC in April of 2012, WYNOT Radio Theatre returns with an original holiday-themed, action-packed episode featuring the insipid detective Rick Luger in It Came Upon A Midnight Deadly, an over-the-top parody of the Golden Age of Radio with over 90 characters, 200 props and costumes, commercial spoofs, and audience participation.”  Tickets $15.
• Electric Safari — Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, 5:30-8:30 pm, Cheyenne Mountain Zoo.  From the Zoo’s website:  “Cheyenne Mountain Zoo is excited to celebrate 22 years of holiday lights and winter family fun at Electric Safari! Over one million sparkling lights illuminate crisp winter nights, including more than 40 animated light sculptures. Seeing the city’s lights from the Zoo at night is an added treat. Warming fires throughout the Zoo offer a reprieve from the chill, as do select indoor animal exhibits that remain open during the event. And for the first time ever, the new Elephant Barn will be open to the public – only during Electric Safari!”  Ticket prices vary; please see the Zoo’s website for details.
• Christmas Symphony — Sunday, 2:30 pm, Pikes Peak Center.  Celebrate the season with family, friends, and musical favorites.  Tickets $19-59.
• Wild Winter Christmas Celebration — Sunday, 9-10 am, Colorado Wolf and Wildlife Center (nearby Divide, CO).  Festivities will include breakfast burritos with the wolves and a meet & greet with one of the Center’s ambassador wolves.  Tickets:  $25 per adult (kids 12 & under will be admitted for free).

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Things to Do in Colorado Springs This Weekend: Dec. 14-16, 2012

With the snow we experienced last weekend here in Colorado Springs, it is finally starting to feel like winter– and with just 12 days until Christmas, we’re in store for a festive weekend.  Below we have listed a local  few events and activities for you to consider enjoying with your friends and family this weekend.  Happy holidays!

• A Christmas Story — Friday, 7:30 pm, Saturday, 2 pm & 7:30 pm, and Sunday, 2 pm, Colorado Springs Fine Arts Center.  From the FAC website:  “The modern holiday film classic concerning Ralphie Parker’s quest for a Red Ryder B-B gun becomes a live theatrical experience for the whole family. All of the elements from the beloved film are here, including:  the family’s temperamental exploding furnace; Scut Farkas, the school bully; the boys’ experiment with a wet tongue on a cold lamppost; the Little Orphan Annie decoder pin; and more.”  Tickets $15-37.
• WYNOT Radio Theatre’s It Came Upon a Midnight Deadly — Friday & Saturday, 7:30 pm, and Sunday, 2 pm, Colorado Springs Fine Arts Center. From the FAC website:  “Following their successful engagement at the FAC in April of 2012, WYNOT Radio Theatre returns with an original holiday-themed, action-packed episode featuring the insipid detective Rick Luger in It Came Upon A Midnight Deadly, an over-the-top parody of the Golden Age of Radio with over 90 characters, 200 props and costumes, commercial spoofs, and audience participation.”  Tickets $15.
• Colorado Youth Ballet:  Nutcracker– Friday, 5 pm & 7:30 pm, Pikes Peak Center.  Tickets $16-31.
  

  Santa playing piano at Garden of the Gods Club

• Santa’s Family Brunch — Saturday, 11 am to 2 pm, Garden of the Gods Club’s dining room.  Open to Members and Lodge guests only.  $32 per adult and $14 per child
• “Holiday Evening” at Rock Ledge Ranch — Saturday, 4 pm to 8 pm.  From the RLR website:  “Rock Ledge Ranch will be transformed with the sights, sounds, and aromas of this traditionally festive season.  The evening features jingle-bell wagon rides, old-time musical entertainment, lantern light tours to the 1860s homestead cabin, blacksmithing demonstrations, a barn dance, Victorian celebrations in the 1880s Rock Ledge House and Edwardian festivities in the 1907 Orchard House.  St. Nicholas will be in the Carriage House to visit with children and adults and a photographer will be on hand to capture the moment. Purchase those extra special gifts at the Heritage Shop. Hot cider and other goodies will be available at several locations around the Ranch. Admission price includes all activities and tours. Volunteer assistance provided by the Living History Association.”  For more information, please visit www.rockledgeranch.com.
• Electric Safari — Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, 5:30-8:30 pm, Cheyenne Mountain Zoo.  From the Zoo’s website:  “Cheyenne Mountain Zoo is excited to celebrate 22 years of holiday lights and winter family fun at Electric Safari! Over one million sparkling lights illuminate crisp winter nights, including more than 40 animated light sculptures. Seeing the city’s lights from the Zoo at night is an added treat. Warming fires throughout the Zoo offer a reprieve from the chill, as do select indoor animal exhibits that remain open during the event. And for the first time ever, the new Elephant Barn will be open to the public – only during Electric Safari!”  Ticket prices vary; please see the Zoo’s website for details.
• Craig Morgan & Phil Vassar:  Acoustic Christmas Tour– Saturday, 7:30 pm, Pikes Peak Center.  From the PPC website:  “Join these two award-winning superstars for an intimate family-friendly concert as they perform their own hits and an assortment of hand-picked holiday favorites, and throw in some old-fashioned surprises. Craig Morgan has been a mainstay on the country charts for 10 years with a body of work that includes 14 Top Ten hits- including fan-favorites ‘Redneck Yacht Club,’ ‘Almost Home,’ ‘That’s What I Love about Sunday,’ and ‘Tough.’  Phil Vassar’s uniquely piano-based, rhythm and blues-infused music remains a specialty in the genre with hits including ‘Just Another Day in Paradise,’ ‘Carlene,’ and ‘My Next Thirty Years.’”  Tickets $42-50.
  

  Polar Express Pajama Party

• Polar Express Pajama Party — Sunday, 6 pm to 8 pm, Sunrise Room at Garden of the Gods Club.  Open to Members and Lodge guests only.  $10 per person.
• National Ballet of Denver:  An Evening of Stars — Sunday, 6:30 pm, Pikes Peak Center.  From the PPC website:  “A dazzling evening of dance featuring excerpts from some of the most renowned ballets of all time, including Sleeping Beauty, Romeo & Juliet, Swan Lake and a new world premier featuring Artistic Directors Andrei Vassiliev and Cornell Callender, International Guest Dancers, along with the National Ballet Denver dancers. An Evening of Stars will be a night of artistry you will never forget.”  Tickets $28-76.

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